Modern Slavery, Anti-Bribery & Corruption, Privacy and Whistleblowers

The corporate veil is no longer sufficient to shield large businesses from taking responsibility for what individual directors and suppliers are up to – or from wearing the legal and reputational risks if something is wrong.

Coleman Greig Lawyers will be hosting an exclusive C-Suite Workshop on the latest legislation covering anti-bribery, modern slavery, whistleblowers and privacy, and how it will affect businesses with a turnover exceeding $50m and subsidiaries of multinationals in Australia.

Our experienced lawyers will provide an overview of the key issues, practical strategies you can apply to ensure compliance, and recommendations for changes to your company policies.

Specific topics will include:

1. Modern Slavery Legislation
In the last 6 months both the NSW and Federal Parliaments have passed Modern Slavery legislation, imposing reporting requirements on businesses with turnover exceeding $50m (NSW) or $100m (Federal).  While the direct obligation falls on larger companies, it is inevitable that they will make demands on any smaller companies within their supply chains for assurances that their supply chains are free from modern slavery risks, meaning that the compliance requirements extend well beyond the companies actually required to report.

2. Anti-bribery and Corruption
Proposed new laws to prevent foreign bribery by Australian companies are set to place greater onus on directors to take steps to prevent, detect and respond to potential corruption. The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2017(Cth) shifts the responsibility onto companies – and ultimately their directors – to prevent foreign bribery and will also ensure the offence of foreign bribery is easier to prove.

3. Privacy
From 22 February 2018 amendments to the Privacy Act 1988 came into effect that introduced a mandatory notification procedure for data breaches. All entities bound by the current Australian Privacy Principles have new reporting obligations if there is an eligible data breach, and now need to notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and any parties who are at risk as a result of the breach.

4. Whistleblower Bill
Corporate whistleblowers will have even greater protections in a strengthened regime for the corporate, financial and credit sectors, following Senate amendments to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections), effective 1 July 2019. The new laws will require public companies, large proprietary companies and proprietary companies that are the trustee of a registrable superannuation entity to develop an appropriate “whistleblower policy” as well as educating relevant staff members on requirements.

Who Should Attend

• CEOs, CFOs, and COOs of large Australian businesses and subsidiaries of multinationals
• Business owners
• Senior executives and business/decision-makers

Don’t miss your chance to attend this highly practical and informative workshop – book now to reserve your place!